Digital construction procurement: How Legacie is leading the way

What would your commercial team do with 10,000 more hours in the year?

For main contractors, that's not necessarily a rhetorical question.

At the recent Digital Construction North event, the construction industry gained valuable insights into how procurement and supply chain management are evolving.

Despite procurement being critical to the success of construction projects, many main contractors still rely on outdated systems to manage the process. As Colin Campbell of Legacie shared, the industry is shifting toward a smarter approach.

And Legacie? It's at the forefront.

Don't fancy reading? Watch the session on YouTube instead.

The challenge: Fragmented, manual processes

Procurement in construction is a fragmented and manual process.

Teams juggle multiple spreadsheets, emails, and documents just to keep up. Colin didn’t shy away from explaining the problems Legacie faced when dealing with these outdated systems:

"We had very few systems and processes, so we had no visibility, very little visibility on sites. And it's not the big brother approach of trying to monitor everything that's happening on site, it's giving tools to the staff that are actually delivering the project to make things more efficient for them."

This lack of visibility and control led to inefficiencies across their operations, especially for younger staff who had difficulty understanding the full scope of procurement. 

With this in mind, Colin and his team decided it was time to modernise.

From manual to digital procurement

The turning point came after Colin discovered ProcurePro by complete coincidence. After watching a 90-second video, he was convinced that this tool could solve a key problem in their project delivery.

"I literally stumbled across a video online, watched it for two minutes, and I was very quickly convinced that this could answer a ring-fenced part of our project delivery," he said.

For Legacie, the solution was clear: modernise procurement to make it faster, more transparent, and efficient. Within just days of discovering ProcurePro, they decided to adopt the platform. As Colin put it, "We didn't spend 12 months analysing; we didn't want to wait years. We just implemented it as quickly as possible."

The benefits: Smarter, faster, and more consistent decisions

One of the most significant advantages of the new system was the visibility it provided — not just for the directors but for the entire team.

"It's not about the directors getting visibility; it's about giving the teams the visibility to make smarter decisions," explained Alastair Blenkin, CEO of ProcurePro. This shift allowed teams to have the data they needed to make better decisions quickly, leading to more efficient project delivery.

With ProcurePro, Legacie could consolidate procurement data from multiple projects, enabling teams to see vendor performance across the board. This transparency not only improved decision-making but also helped mitigate risks, as they could spot potential issues early on.

Real-time collaboration and streamlined procurement

One key benefit of ProcurePro is how seamlessly it integrates with other tools in the construction tech ecosystem, such as Procore. This integration helped Legacie streamline its procurement process even further.

"We didn’t even realise how many times we go trying to execute documents and it’s the wrong company name... Now, we know we're using the right business," said Colin.

This integration, combined with ProcurePro’s ease of use, enabled Legacie to quickly onboard projects into the system, ensuring no procurement steps were overlooked. As Colin shared, "We put in 16 live projects within a couple of weeks, and that gave us consistency of process at the other end."

Thanks to the digital system, procurement that once took too much time and effort was now efficient, transparent, and centralised. Teams no longer wasted time hunting for documents or using outdated methods to manage procurement tasks.

What’s next: AI and the future of procurement

Looking ahead, both Colin and Alastair see huge potential for AI to revolutionise procurement even further. AI is already being integrated into procurement systems to help analyse and compare quotes much faster than before.

"The system can now do a fast, high-level comparison, so you're not waiting two weeks to compare five quotes. The AI highlights the best options, points out risks, and helps teams make smarter decisions," Alastair explained.

For Legacie, AI could be used to identify discrepancies in subcontractor documents, helping to streamline the review process and reduce conflicts. With these AI-driven insights, the team can focus more on proactive decision-making and risk management rather than manual checks.

Is your procurement system ready for the future?

Procurement in construction doesn’t have to be complicated or inefficient. As Legacie’s experience shows, the right digital tools can help streamline the process, reduce risks, and improve decision-making.

So, ask yourself: what would your commercial team do with 10,000 more hours in the year?

With the right procurement system in place, they could spend more time valuing trades, improving margins, and delivering better results across projects.

It’s time to stop relying on outdated systems and start using a modern, efficient solution.

Interested in reading more success stories?

Or, if you’re ready to see how ProcurePro can transform your procurement process, speak to a procurement expert.